The VOIP Provider Guide

Mobile VoIP has a couple of different means by which it can eventually break through that fated startup phase and become a mainstream reality in telecommunications. The first of those is for the phone companies to step forward and start offering integrated services for their customers that take advantage of cheaper, mobile broadband calling. While a couple of major companies are doing what they can to make this happen – Sprint and T-Mobile at the moment – the rest are still pondering their options and attempting to block third party VoIP support from their phones.

The second option however is much more appealing and with recent announcements surrounding Nokia’s E and N series phones and unlocked sales, it seems much more feasible. That is, phone manufacturers can start placing direct VoIP support on their phones in the concept and build phases as well as sell their phones unlocked out the door rather than relying on phone companies to package them with expensive rate plans.

Both aspects of the second option are more realistic now than ever. There are too many phones to get every one of them into a retail showroom for AT&T or Sprint and by combining VoIP support, phone manufacturers can start selling their wares independently, through technology sites, and cut out the middle man.

Truphone and Expansys
A recent partnership between Truphone’s VoIP service (famously having defeated T-Mobile’s recent blockages in England) and Expansys, an online retailer of smartphones from around the globe, will make it so that all capable smartphones sold through Expansys will include the Truphone application.Because the major mobile companies are not too keen on assisting in getting their customers set up with VoIP, it is necessary for the VoIP software companies to find a means for their software to get on those phones. With this kind of deal, Truphone will have an automatic install base and users can utilize the technology without having to jump through hoops and install it. Expansys’s typical customer base is that target demographic of high-end users with lots of technological clout and a desire to show it off. This means that the news will spread quickly, a smart move on both sides.

Whether or not the software and Truphone’s service catches on is entirely up to Truphone, assuming they can offer the kid of service that users become enamored with. The promise of much cheaper service rates and quality calls will lure most users to give it a shot. It’s up to Truphone to make them keep using it.  It remains to be seen if other VoIP providers and software companies will attempt to make the same sort of deal with companies like Expansys. Surely, if they do, the market for unlocked mobile smartphones will only increase as customization and preloaded options make them more user friendly and accessible than ever before.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 10th, 2007 at 8:44 am and is filed under VOIP News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.